03 - Birthday Tribute to a Demon King!

[belfire]

Who: Kazuya, Atsuro (otakuro) & Naoya (meaningdies)
Where: Cancer Ward
Summary: BACKDATED TO 24th NOVEMBER yeah I'm late. It's Kazuya's birthday! He wants tribute.
Warnings: Spoilt Demon King ahoy.

It was Kazuya's birthday, and he actually felt somewhat happy over this. There was none of the excitement that was normally felt on this day, but it was enough to put him into a peppy mood despite the cold weather.

Of course he sent his friend and cousin where they could find him to give him presents, and, if they wanted to, to hang out. Kazuya had squirrelled away enough money to splurge on this day of fun, and he was spending some of that money on one of the crane machines outside of the Growlanser Arcade.

Although Kazuya wasn't alone. His demon, Okuninushi, was standing beside him, holding what seemed to be a plastic bag full of boxed food (cakes and sweets, most likely) with an expression of grand patience. A great misuse of a Kishin, but it was Kazuya's birthday, and everyone loved arcades!

"Lord, I think that should be more to the left."

"I've got it, I've got- oh fucking hell."

Well, that love was being tested at the moment. Kazuya glared at the empty crane, before his gaze dropped back down to the Jack Frost toy that it had failed to grab. He swore this damned game cheated...

Comments

[belfire]

"It better not be a gag present again. You owe me from last year's abomination," Kazuya warned, taking the lumpy, poorly wrapped thing with a suspicious squint slanted towards his friend. That expression quickly lightened into one of childish anticipation though, his fingers quickly picking away at the sellotape and multiple layers of wrapping pap- goddammit.

"How much paper did you use? I feel like I'm playing pass the parcel here," Kazuya grumbled, shoving another layer of wrapping paper into Okuninushi's waiting hand.

[otakuro]

"Hey! How was I supposed to know you had a bad childhood experience with kitsune udon?"

Atsuro may or may not have completely forgotten what he'd purchased Kazuya for his birthday last year. It was so long ago, anyway, it definitely didn't matter at all. He smiles brightly as Kazuya continues to work through the layers of paper...

"Keep going...!"

And layers. And layers. And layers. Until, finally, there's only a very thin box left on the inside.

"It's, uh, special so I put extra care into wrapping it."

It's a mug with #1 Demon King printed on it. It's a T-shirt featuring Atsuro's favorite video game characters that Kazuya has probably never heard of before. It's a kitty litter box. It's blue hair dye with built in dandruff remover.

Alternatively, it's a deep navy-blue cloak that could be mistaken for black under the wrong lighting conditions.

"I thought you could use a spare. And I had some pockets sewn in - useful and fashionable."

Whenever Kazuya gets around to checking all the pockets, he'll find that one of them contains a flash drive. But perhaps that won't come until later.

[belfire]

It hadn't been kitsune udon - but Kazuya had learned on his last birthday that he had a severe allergy to bush daisies. It was better not to remember. He wasn't sure if being a Demon King null and voided that allergy now, but, better to err on the side of caution...

Thankfully it seemed Atsuro didn't bring him another hideous plant for him to nearly die from. Kazuya let out a little curious noise at the thin box, examining it from multiple angles before lifting up the lid - to reveal a neatly folded up cape.

"--..." Kazuya stared at it while Atsuro spoke, somewhat taken aback by the gift. His friend normally trolled him when it came to gift-giving (and, admittedly, Kazuya did the same), but when he did give a genuine present, Atsuro normally hit the sentimental nail on its head. Yeah, it was just a spare cape, but, still...

In his world...

Kazuya shook off the sudden flare of emotion (it's just a present Jesus Christ) and slipped the lid back on the box, glancing up at his friend with a small smile. "Hah, feeding my unhealthy love for capes... for shame, Atsuro," he quipped, but there was an undeniable trace of warmth in his tone.

[otakuro]

"I'm an enabler." Atsuro agrees readily with a smile that's a little more sincerely friendly than the normal affair. "'Cause if you're going to wear anything 24/7, it might as well be something you didn't pick up off the street somewhere." Seriously, Kazuya, where had you even gotten that thing during the end of the world, anyway?

The more sentimental part would come later, given that the contents of the flashdrive would hopefully be a flash from the past.

Let's play 'Where's Kazuya?' Don't ask me how I got these pictures; you probably don't want to know.

Followed by relatively decently clear shots of Kazuya from various time frames. Quite a few were of Atsuro, Yoohoo, and Kazuya during their high school days but there would also be a few unusual ones, including one of a teeny elementary school age demon lord.

I actually found this on Naoya's computer one day and I made a copy without him knowing. Don't say anything.

In the meantime, Atsuro begins to pick up the wrapping to throw away.

"But if I'd known you wanted a Jack Frost doll so badly, I would have just bought you one of those."

[belfire]

Sadly, Atsuro was correct regarding his cape. He had picked it up off the street, but, man, he had to look imposing there and then when he had been facing the SDF at the barricade, and that had been the closest thing on hand. He just grew attached to it afterwards...

But like hell he'd tell Atsuro that. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Or you could've bought me both," Kazuya said cheekily, handing his present to his faithful Kishin for him to hold onto. Later, when he would find the flashdrive, Kazuya would embarrass himself by curling up into the new cape, filled with nostalgia and other emotions that were weird and confusing, but for now...

Kazuya snatched the wrapping from Atsuro's hands, screwing it up into a small ball and setting it aflame with a bit of effort. It crumpled to ash within seconds, and a small shake of his hand sent the ash scattering onto the floor, the flames extinguishing immediately. He icked at the soot on his hand though, wiping it clean on his sweater.

"Anyway, we should go and party, or something. Arcade or strip club?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at his friend in an over the top manner.

[otakuro]

((Sorry for the wait! This weekend was super hectic.))

He'd always suspected as much, honestly. Eau de hobo had added an interesting new texture to Kazuya's normal aura. ...Not that he went around sniffing his friend or anything.

"Or I could've bought you nothing and let you bask in the pleasure of our friendship." Atsuro considers for a moment that he was spending too much time around Demon King!Kazuya as he cheerfully shoots back with his own retort. He was getting pretty sarcastic here. This thought is forgotten as Kazuya decides to dispose of the trash by setting it alight.

"Hey! Don't mess up the cape before you even wear it, alright? Wash your hands before you put it on later. ......And, uh, let me think about that for a mom -- arcade."

[belfire]

((It's fine! I've made you wait longer for replies oTL))

"Yeah, yeah," Kazuya said dismissively, settling his hands on his hips once he finished wiping his palm clean. It was only a bit of soot, and the fabric was dark! It wouldn't turn up on his new cape!

Hearing Atsuro's decision though, Kazuya couldn't help but laugh, pitching his body forwards a little as he chuckled. "Hah! So even when presented with opportunity for a 3D girl, the 2D ones always catch your attention first... m'kay. I actually haven't played in an arcade in a while anyway," he admitted, straightening up.

[otakuro]

((My horrific lateness knows no bounds. I'm very sorry for the wait! Holiday madness happened. Feel free to drop the thread if you'd rather not go on.))

"Hey. It's 2.5D now. We've progressed far enough that we don't use sprites in arcade machines anymore, right?"

Atsuro's making a strong case for himself here, though to be fair, Yuzu was as much flesh-and-blood as either of them.

"But, uh... It's your birthday, right? If you want to go do something else, be my guest."

[belfire]

((s'fine!))

"It's fine. The Strip Club thing was more of a joke," Kazuya said flippantly, grinning as he lightly punched Atsuro in the shoulder. "I'm not interested in that stuff anyway... so!"

He turned to face the arcade, planting his hands on his hips as he stared into the flashy, multicoloured interior. "Say goodbye to the sun, Atsuro. We won't be seeing it again where we're going."

[otakuro]

"Sun?" Atsuro blinks innocently. "Oh, yeah, the bright light? It's fine; it hurts my eyes, anyway. And I took a multivitamin this morning." He shrugs casually as he turns his back on the nurturer of all life. Amaterasu probably wasn't listening. Probably.

"While we're talking about clubs, though..." Atsuro keeps his tone deliberately casual as he follows Kazuya into paradise the arcade. "I hear we actually do have one of those around town - Nixie's Nightclub or something like that."

[belfire]

"Nyx's Nightclub, and yeah, I know," Kazuya said, looking over his shoulder with a little grin. "I've been in there~"

Well, okay, he went in there to yank Naoya out by his haori just before the craziness with the scorpions happened, but he still went in there for like ten minutes! To be honest it wasn't his thing. Too much smell of sex and alcohol. It made him dizzy just to remember it.

[otakuro]

Atsuro turns to his friend with a mock gasp of surprise.

"Whoa. ...Kazuya! Demon king or not, there are some lines you shouldn't cross." A brief pause. "...Are we even legally allowed to be inside something like that yet?" From the rumors he had heard, it had sounded like a Please Be of an Age to Give Consent sort of place.

[belfire]

"Probably not, but I'm a Demon King. I can go anywhere," Kazuya preened, tossing his head and sticking his nose high up in the air in mock-arrogance. "Hahah, nah, I just went in there to drag Naoya out. It seemed pretty overrated, to be honest."

[otakuro]

"Oh."

...Atsuro pauses to process this piece of information.

"........I forgot why I brought this up because I've got a mental image of Naoya being seduced by a Succubus in my head now."

[belfire]

Kazuya instantly looked nauseous, shuddering violently as he swatted the air around his head, as if hoping to bat aside the horrible thoughts. "Well don't give them to me! I don't want to imagine it!"

[otakuro]

"Wait, hold on...!"

Atsuro holds up a finger as he thoughtfully gazes upwards at the fluorescent lighting on the ceiling.

"...It's alright. MentalImage!Naoya just shoved it away and muttered something about distracting him from his work." Atsuro nods sagely. "...Then he turns to stare creepily at you instead."

[belfire]

Kazuya paused to grimace. "...sadly that's pretty much par for the course with Naoya."

He shook his head and sprang forwards with sudden energy. "Enough of that though, let's play some games. Fighting or what?"

[otakuro]

"I think the only real options in an arcade are Fighting, Racing, and Zombie Killing. ...So yeah, let's go with that."

Atsuro purposefully neglects to mention the rhythm games and the dancing games. Clearly neither of them would enjoy those so no point in mentioning it at all yup.

[belfire]

Plus no doubt Kazuya's cape would interfere with whatever match they had at a dancing game - and the cheating. The horrible, filthy, necessary to win cheating, for two left feet Demon Kings...

"Let's see if we can find a good one- aha! Dragon Warriors!" Kazuya grinned and moved over to a pretty retro looking game. "As it's my birthday you have to pay. Birthday Rules."

[otakuro]

"Birthday rules? Hey, just my being here should be present enough for you today - I had to pause my game when I was only a few hours of grinding away from maxing my stats."

Atsuro will slide in a few yen to feed the machine as it bleep-bloops to life in suitable traditional fashion.

"...Wait, do you even have a job yet?"

[belfire]

"Yeah, I have a job in being absolutely flawless."

Translation: no, he doesn't. He's still viewing this as a vacation to kick back and relax - although truthfully it was beginning to get more than a little boring.

"Job or not though... it's still rude to make the birthday boy pay for stuff," Kazuya pointed out with a grin, tapping the button to opt in as Player 1.

[otakuro]

"According to the latest reports, I hear you can expect to make negative two hundred thousand yen a year pursuing that career."

Atsuro amiably picks up the other controller and waits for the screen to finish loading.

"Maybe try picking up a few flaws here and there."

[belfire]

"How about the flaw of being too perfect?"

And the game loads. Ready... FIGHT!

Kazuya ascribed to the school of button mashing, so watch as his character flails across the 2D field in lunging, wild flurry of random attacks.

[otakuro]

"How about the flaw of being second best at retro games?"

Atsuro sticks out his tongue and prepares himself!! He is totally ready for Kazuya's random flailing and defends with expert precision.

Well sort of.

"Hey stop mashing the trip button."

[belfire]

"Hahah, never! It's my trump move!"

It really was. Kazuya's sure fire way to win games was to crouch and low kick repeatedly, forcing his opponent into a corner and slowly beating them to death in that way. Hey, he didn't have to win with any sort of grace.